Steve's Digicams - Breaking News - Epson America 02/22/2005 Press Release

New Epson Stylus® Photo RX620 All-In-One Provides One-Stop, Computer-Free Photo Center For Your Home

Print, Scan, Copy and Restore Slides, Negatives and Photos for Vibrant Color Reprints or Enlargements without a Computer

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Feb. 22, 2005 – Combining the best of both worlds for digital and traditional photographers, the new Epson Stylus Photo RX620 gives today’s home enthusiasts a convenient, full-featured photo lab. Whether it’s the simple task of printing photos from a digital camera, using the product’s built-in scanner and Epson’s Easy Photo Fix™ technology to restore colors from old, faded slides or negatives, or copying photos and text, the Stylus Photo RX620 offers a convenient one-stop solution for virtually any household’s photo needs.

"Photographs capture our greatest experiences in life and serve as a timeless record for our most cherished memories," said Steve Semos, product manager, Epson. "We realize the importance of quality, convenience and flexibility when it comes to sharing and printing precious memories. The Epson Stylus Photo RX620 is the ultimate home photo stati[JJ1] on, providing an easy way to view, scan, copy and print photographs without dealing with the cost and hassle of a traditional photo lab."

At-Home Photo Printing Convenience and More

The EPSON Stylus Photo RX620 is an ideal imaging center for applications such as printing a variety of photos, creating scrapbook pages, restoring colors from old slides and negatives, and even copying everyday text. This product’s built-in printer uses a six-color ink system to create high-quality photographs in popular frame-ready sizes. It also features a built-in 2.5-inch color LCD used to view and select images, as well as navigate through various applications and on-screen instructions.

A USB host port, PictBridge camera connection and card slots supporting 11 memory card types give users multiple connectivity options.

Additional features include:

• Brilliant Lab-Quality Photos and Reprints – Epson’s six-color photo inks, with variable-sized ink droplets as small as three picoliters and up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi produce true photographic lab-quality prints.

• BorderFree® Photos in a Variety of Sizes – Delivers BorderFree 4"x 6, 5"x 7, 8"x 10, letter-size prints and copies with no perforations or edges to trim.

• Built-In 2.5-inch LCD Viewer – A color display helps make viewing, selecting and editing images convenient and simple. It also provides a quick and easy way to print directly from media cards by selecting simple on-screen menu options.

• Direct Printing Convenience – Prints directly from popular memory card formats with built-in card slots, including CompactFlash™ I and II, Smart Media™, Secure Digital™, MultiMedia Card, IBM Microdrive™, xD-Picture Card, Sony Memory Stick®, Sony Memory Stick PRO, Sony MagicGate and Sony MagicGate Mini Secure Digital (using an optional adapter). Also prints directly from USB-Direct Print and PictBridge-enabled digital cameras.

• High-Quality Scanning – Offering the highest resolution scanner currently available in an all-in-one, the Epson Stylus Photo RX620 boasts 48-bit, 2400 x 4800 color scanning with 3.3 D-Max. For added convenience, this all-in-one features the ability to scan or make reprints from 35mm slides and negatives, all without turning on a PC.

• PC-Free Copying – Convenient PC-free color copying feature can duplicate high-resolution, borderless black and white or color photos, and can make copies of everyday documents, recipes, receipts and more.

• EPSON Easy Photo Fix Color Restoration – Easily restores old, faded and/or discolored images from slides, negatives and prints, and removes digital artifacts from scans typically caused by dust. The Epson Stylus Photo RX620 can also identify multiple photos arranged on the scanner bed at one time, simultaneously restore their colors and then create individual prints.

• Fast Print Speeds – Creates photos and text quickly, delivering a 4"x 6" color print in about 39 seconds and up to 17 pages per minute of black text documents.*

• Flexible Connectivity – Saves images from a memory card directly onto a CD-R or a Zip® Disk – without a computer – using a front access host USB port. This makes it simple to connect the all-in-one to a CD-R drive, Zip drive, thumb drive, or PictBridge-enabled digital camera. An optional Bluetooth™ Print Adapter from Epson (sold separately) also enables convenient wireless printing from a Bluetooth-enabled camera phone, PDA or computer.

• EPSON Smart Panel® software – Quickly scans photos, text or graphics with extreme detail to the Internet, e-mail programs, or fax software.

• Individual Ink Cartridges – Featuressix separate "snap-in/snap-out" ink cartridges – black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta. The individual ink cartridges can be replaced at any time to maximize efficiency and lower the total cost of ownership over time.

• Compatibility and Connectivity – Works with both Windows and Macintosh platforms and offers USB 2.0 High-Speed.

Epson’s StoryTeller™ Photo Book Creator and the EPSON Stylus Photo RX620

The Epson Stylus Photo RX620 paired with Epson’s new StoryTeller Photo Book Creator (sold separately, with estimated retail prices from .99 – .99) gives photo enthusiasts everything they need to publish their own photographic, coffee table-style book. This kit includes easy-to-use, drag-and-drop software with professionally designed page layouts, a hardcover book with a specially-designed adhesive binding system, Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper for stunning page printing, a glossy pre-scored book cover with flaps and a protective polypropylene cover.

While StoryTeller is designed to work with all ink jet printers and multifunction devices offering support for Windows 98 SE/ME/2000/XP operating systems, the Epson Stylus Photo RX620 will achieve optimal results because it can not only digitize but also restore color to analog photos that consumers want to include in a book. In addition, the unit’s six-color inks are engineered to produce brilliant images on the Epson paper in the kit, and like all Epson printers and all-in-ones, it supports banner printing to handle the book’s long glossy cover.

Pricing and Availability

The Epson Stylus Photo RX620 is available now for an estimated street price of and can be purchased through Epson authorized dealers, mail order, computer superstores, photo specialty stores and on the Epson retail Web site (www.epsonstore.com). The all-in-one carries a one-year whole unit exchange warranty and is supported by the EPSON ConnectionSM –a customer support and technical assistance line. For more information on Epson and its products, call 1-800-GO-EPSON or visit www.epson.com.

About Epson America Inc.

Epson America, Inc. offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, business, photography and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transaction terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.